Geographical call routing for a non-emergency calling service

ABSTRACT

A method for location-based communicating includes defining at least one predefined service area for a service provider. A networked communications apparatus receives a communication including a first identifier that identifies the service provider based on input from a requesting party. A determination is made as to whether multiple predefined service areas have been defined for the service provider based on receiving the communication at the networked communications apparatus. A determination is made as to whether the requesting party is in one of the predefined service areas, when the multiple predefined service areas have been defined for the service provider. A determination is made as to which of the predefined service areas the requesting party is in, when the requesting party is in one of the predefined service areas. Information specific to a service provider location is provided for the determined predefined service area the requesting party is in.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/680,658, filed on Mar. 1, 2007, which is a continuationapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/342,880, filed onJan. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,203,302, issued Apr. 10, 2007, whichis a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/789,977, filed on Mar. 2, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,054,432, issuedMay 30, 2006, which is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/388,635, filed on Mar. 17, 2003, now U.S. Pat.No. 6,724,882, issued Apr. 20, 2004; which is a continuation applicationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/977,697, filed on Oct. 16, 2001,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,917, issued May 13, 2003; which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/207,275,filed on Dec. 8, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,324, issued Dec. 11,2001, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/069,114, filed on Dec. 9, 1997, the contents of which are expresslyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to systems for routing telephonecalls to appropriate numbers. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) based system andmethods for routing telephone calls based on the location of the callingparty.

ACRONYMS

The written description provided herein contains acronyms which refer tovarious communication services and system components. Although known,use of several of these acronyms is not strictly standardized in theart. For purposes of the written description herein, acronyms will bedefined as follows:

AIN—Advanced Intelligent Network

AMA—Automatic Message Accounting

CCIS—Common Channel Interoffice Signaling

CO—Central Office

CPN—Calling Party Number

CPR—Call Processing Record

DN—Dialed Number Trigger

DRS—Data Reporting System

EO—End Office (EO)

ISCP—Integrated Service Control Point

LSP—Local Service Provider

NPA—Number Plan Area, i.e., area code

NXX—Central Office Code

RTN—Routing Telephone Number

SCE—Service Creation Environment

SCP—Service Control Point

SCCP—Signaling Connection Control Part

SMS—Service Management System

SPC—Signaling Point Code

SS7—Signaling System 7

SSP—Service Switching Point

STP—Signaling Transfer Point

TAT—Terminating Attempt Trigger

TCAP—Transaction Capabilities Applications Protocol

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In recent years, a number of new telephone service features have beenprovided by advanced intelligent communications networks such as anAdvanced Intelligent Network (AIN). The AIN evolved out of a need toincrease the capabilities of the telephone network architecture to meetthe growing needs of telephone service customers. The AIN architecturegenerally comprises two networks, a data messaging network and a trunkedcommunications network. The trunked communications network handles voiceand data communications between dispersed network locations, whereas thedata messaging network is provided for controlling operations of thetrunked communications network.

An illustration of the basic components of an AIN architecture is shownin FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, Central Offices (CO) 10-16 are providedfor sending and receiving data messages from an Integrated ServiceControl Point (ISCP) 20 via a Signaling Transfer Point (STP) 30-34. Thedata messages are communicated to and from the COs 10-16 and the ISCP 20along a Common Channel Inter-Office Signaling (CCIS) network 22. Each CO10-16 serves as a network Service Switching Point (SSP) to routetelephone calls between a calling station (e.g., station 40) and acalled station (e.g., station 48) through the trunked communicationsnetwork 24-26. For more information regarding AIN, see Berman, Roger K.,and Brewster, John H., “Perspectives on the AIN Architecture,” IEEECommunications Magazine, February 1992, pp. 27-32, the disclosure ofwhich is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

While prior AIN or AIN-type intelligent network applications may haveprovided various features to subscribers and users, these priorapplications do not allow users to dial one telephone number and reach asingle point of contact for multiple services provided by a subscriber.Current systems and methods require users to identify one of manypossible numbers to call depending on the specific information orservice desired from the subscriber. This requires users to know thetelephone number of all departments or service groups of the subscriberthat they need information from.

Moreover, none of the current systems and methods allow a user to dialan abbreviated telephone number to access services from a subscriber.Currently, the user must lookup, write down, or memorize a full seven ormore digit number for each department or service group that they mayneed information from.

Therefore, a system and method is needed that allows users to dial onetelephone number and reach a single point of contact for information andservices provided by a subscriber, and that provides an abbreviatedtelephone number that is easy to remember for accessing the single pointof contact for services from the subscriber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a system and methodfor geographical call routing for a non-emergency calling service thatsubstantially obviates one or more of the problems arising from thelimitations and disadvantages of the related art.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an AIN system andmethod that routs calls to a non-emergency service based on thegeographical location of the caller.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an AIN systemand method that allows users to dial one telephone number and reach asingle point of contact for services provided by a subscriber.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an AIN systemand method that allows users to dial an abbreviated telephone numberthat is easy to remember for accessing a single point of contact forservices from a subscriber.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is directed to anadvanced intelligent communications system for routing telephone callsbased on the location of a calling party. The system includes: aplurality of call origination telephones; at least one switching deviceoperatively connected to at least one of the plurality of callorigination telephones, the at least one switching device servicingcalls placed by at least one calling party using one of the plurality ofcall origination telephones; a processor operatively connected to the atleast one switching device, the processor determining routing of thecalls placed by the at least one calling party; a storage deviceoperatively connected to the processor, the storage device containinglocation information related to the at least one calling party; and atleast one destination telephone operatively connected to at least one ofthe at least one switching device, wherein the processor sends routinginformation to the at least one switching device for routing calls toone of the at least one destination telephone and a terminatingannouncement, based on the location of the at least one calling party.

According to another aspect of the present invention, each at least oneswitching device has an associated signaling point code that is used bythe processor to determine the location of the at least one callingparty relative to a defined service area.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the signalingpoint code indicates whether the at least one switching device servicesonly calls within the defined service area.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the signalingpoint code indicates whether the at least one switching device servicescalls both within the defined service area and outside of the definedarea.

According to another aspect of the present invention, each signalingpoint code that indicates whether the at least one switching deviceservices only calls within the defined service area, has an associatedcall routing telephone number.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the storagedevice contains information mapping the signaling point codes to theassociated call routing telephone number for the at least one switchingdevice that services only calls within the defined service area.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, for thesignaling point codes that indicate the at least one switching devicedoes not service any calls within the defined service area, theprocessor sends routing information to the at least one switching deviceto route the call to the terminating announcement.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the storage devicecontains information indicating whether the signaling point codesrepresent switching devices that service telephones within the servicearea.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the storagedevice contains information indicating whether the signaling point codesrepresent switching devices that service telephones both in the servicearea and outside the service area.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the storagedevice contains information mapping telephone numbers of the at leastone calling party to associated zip codes.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the storage devicecontains information mapping the associated zip codes to call routingtelephone numbers.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, informationregarding the processing of the calls placed by the at least one callingparty is recorded.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, a reportgenerator generates reports based on the information recorded.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the calls placedby the at least one calling party are to an abbreviated telephone numbercomprising three digits.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the callsplaced by the at least one calling party are to “1” plus an abbreviatedtelephone number comprising three digits.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the calls placedby the at least one calling party are to “0” plus an abbreviatedtelephone number comprising three digits.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the definedservice area comprises multiple service areas.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the at leastone switch device comprises at least one of a 5ESS switch, a AXE10switch, a 1AESS switch, and a DMS100 switch.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the at least oneswitching device comprises an AIN switch.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the at least oneswitching device comprises a non-AIN switch.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the at leastone switching device is a host switching device that services at leastone remote terminal.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the presentinvention includes a method for routing a call based on the location ofthe calling party number in an advanced intelligent communicationssystem that includes: receiving a telephone call at a switching point,the telephone call being from a calling party number to an abbreviateddialed number; determining if the abbreviated dialed number is atriggering number; notifying a service control point of receipt of thetelephone call by the switching point if the abbreviated dialed numberis a triggering number; classifying the switching point; determining thelocation of the calling party number; determining the appropriaterouting of the telephone call based on the location of the calling partynumber; sending call routing information regarding the telephone call tothe switching point; and routing the telephone call to one of adestination number and a default announcement.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the abbreviateddialed number comprises three digits.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, theabbreviated dialed number comprises ‘1’ plus three digits.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the abbreviateddialed number comprises ‘0’ plus three digits.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the classifyingincludes determining whether the switching point receives telephonecalls only from within a defined service area.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, theclassifying includes determining whether the switching point receivestelephone calls from both within a defined service area and outside thedefined service area.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the notifyingfurther comprises sending information related to the switching point tothe service control point.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the determining ifthe abbreviated dialed number is a triggering number includes comparingthe information related to the switching point to location information.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the notifyingincludes sending information related to the calling party number to theservice control point.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the determiningof the location comprises comparing a zip code of the calling partynumber to location information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the determining ofthe location comprises determining the location of the service switchingpoint.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, thedetermining of the appropriate routing comprises determining the zipcode of the location of the calling party number.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the routingcomprises routing the telephone call to the destination number closestto the calling party number.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the defaultannouncement recites a message and terminates the call.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the presentinvention includes an advanced intelligent communications system forrouting telephone calls based on the location of a calling party thatincludes: calling means for originating a telephone call; switchingmeans operatively connected to the calling means, the switching meansservicing calls placed by a calling party using the calling means;processor means operatively connected to the switching means, theprocessor means determining routing of the calls placed by the callingparty; storage means operatively connected to the processor means, thestorage means containing location information related to the callingparty; and at least one destination site operatively connected to atleast one of the switching means, wherein the processor means sendsrouting information to the switching means for routing calls to one ofthe at least one destination site and a terminating announcement, basedon the location of the calling party.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the switchingmeans has an associated signaling point code that is used by theprocessor means to determine the location of the calling party.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the signalingpoint code indicates whether the switching means services only callsfrom within a defined service area.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the signalingpoint code indicates whether the switching means services calls fromboth within the defined service area and from outside of the definedarea.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, each signalingpoint code that indicates whether the switching means services onlycalls from within a defined service area, has an associated call routingtelephone number.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the storage meanscontains information mapping the signaling point codes to the associatedcall routing telephone number for the switching means that services onlycalls from within the defined service area.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, for thesignaling point codes that indicate the switching means does not serviceany calls from within the defined service area, the processor meanssends routing information to the switching means to route the call tothe terminating announcement.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the storagemeans contains information indicating whether the signaling point codesrepresent switching means that service calls from within the servicearea.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the storage meanscontains information indicating whether the signaling point codesrepresent switching means that service calls from both within theservice area and outside the service area.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the storagemeans contains information mapping telephone numbers of the callingparty to associated zip codes.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the storagemeans contains information mapping the associated zip codes to callrouting telephone numbers.

According to another aspect of the present invention, informationregarding the processing of the calls placed by the at least one callingparty is recorded.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the inventionincludes means for generating reports based on the information recorded.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the calls placedby the calling party are to an abbreviated telephone number comprisingthree digits.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the calls placedby the calling party are to an abbreviated telephone number comprising“1” plus three additional digits.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the callsplaced by the calling party are to an abbreviated telephone numbercomprising “0” plus three additional digits.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the presentinvention includes an advanced intelligent communications system forrouting a call based on the location of the calling party number thatincludes: receiving means for receiving a telephone call at a switchingpoint, the telephone call being from a calling party number to anabbreviated dialed number; determining means for determining if theabbreviated dialed number is a triggering number; notifying means fornotifying a service control point of receipt of the telephone call bythe switching point if the abbreviated dialed number is a triggeringnumber; classifying means for classifying the switching point; seconddetermining means for determining the location of the calling partynumber; third determining means for determining the appropriate routingof the telephone call based on the location of the calling party number;sending means for sending call routing information regarding thetelephone call to the switching point; and routing means for routing thetelephone call to one of a destination number and a defaultannouncement.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the abbreviateddialed number includes a telephone number that comprises three digits.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, theabbreviated dialed number comprises a telephone number that comprises‘1’ plus three additional digits.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the abbreviateddialed number includes a telephone number that comprises ‘0’ plus threeadditional digits.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the classifyingmeans determines whether the switching point receives telephone callsonly from within a defined service area.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, theclassifying means determines whether the switching point receivestelephone calls from both within a defined service area and outside thedefined service area.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the notifyingmeans further sends information related to the switching point to theservice control point.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the firstdetermining means further compares the information related to theswitching point to location information.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the notifyingmeans further sends information related to the calling party number tothe service control point.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the seconddetermining means compares a zip code of the calling party number tolocation information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the seconddetermining means determines the location of the service switchingpoint.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the thirddetermining means determines the zip code of the location of the callingparty number.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the routingmeans routes the telephone call to the destination number closest to thecalling party number.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the defaultannouncement recites a message and terminates the call.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be setforth in the description to follow, or may be learned by practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will berealized and attained by the methods particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof together with the appendeddrawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory, andare intended to provide further examples and an explanation of theinvention as claimed.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrating one embodiment of theinvention. The drawings, together with the description, serve to explainthe principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, by the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereference numerals refer to similar elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary prior art AIN system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an AIN geographical call routing for anon-emergency calling service according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an Integrated Service Control Pointaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of geographical call routing for anon-emergency calling service according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary Single Point Code Table according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary Zip Code to Routing Telephone Number tableaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an AIN geographical call routing for anon-emergency calling service with multiple service areas according tothe present invention;

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary multiple service area SPC table according tothe present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary table showing switch specific defaultannouncement translations;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary table showing POTS and coin call dispositionaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary AMA record;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of the geographical call routing for anon-emergency calling service with DRS according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes ofillustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present invention onlyand are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be themost useful and readily understood description of the principles andconceptual aspects of the present invention. In this regard, no attemptis made to show structural details of the present invention in moredetail than is necessary for the fundamental understanding of thepresent invention, the description taken with the drawings makingapparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of thepresent invention may be embodied in practice.

Many telephone services may be provided using an AIN or AIN-type networkfor centralized control of telephone services offered to subscribers, asopposed to localized control of services at the Central Office (CO). AnAIN system is provided through interaction between switching points andother systems supporting AIN logic.

1. AIN Network

The geographical call routing for a non-emergency call service accordingto the present invention may be implemented using AIN Release 0.1protocols and advanced intelligent network capabilities which areprovided by a telephone company, i.e., programmable service controlpoints (SCPs), central offices equipped with AIN service switching point(SSP) features, and existing Common Channel Interoffice Signaling (CCIS)networks. The Signaling System 7 (SS7) network is a widely used CCISnetwork that provides two-way communication of Transaction CapabilitiesApplication Protocol (TCAP) formatted data messages between the SCP andthe STP. The telephone network essentially employs an upper-levelsoftware network through the STPs and the SCP. The software resides overthe hardware to check the call route and the availability of connectionprior to hardware connection.

FIG. 2 illustrates a general block diagram of an Advanced IntelligentNetwork (AIN) in which a system and method for geographical call routingfor a non-emergency calling service is embodied in accordance with thepresent invention. In FIG. 2, local telephone lines 114 connect aplurality of individual locations 72-94 in each geographic area to theclosest Central Office (CO), or End Office (EO) which contains ServiceSwitching Points 60-70. An End Office is a Central Office that isconnected to the telephone equipment of a user. In FIG. 2, each CO isshown as a Service Switching Point (SSP) 60-70.

The SSPs may include, but are not limited to, 5ESS, AXE10, 1AESS, andDMS-100 switches. If 5ESS switches are utilized, then these switchesshould be equipped with generic 5E9 (or higher) and provided with thenecessary trigger requirements (discussed below) in order to servesubscribers. Any 1AESS switches should be equipped with generic 1AE12.06(or higher) and provided the necessary trigger requirements in order toserve subscribers. For DMS switches, DMS release (NA008), and thenecessary trigger features should be provided. The correspondingsoftware release for the ISCP is Release (5.0). For AXE10 switches, AXE10 8.0 and the necessary trigger features should be provided. Futuresoftware releases on these network elements should not impact theservice.

For purposes of illustration, only six SSPs are shown in FIG. 2.However, more (or less) than six SSPs may be utilized. The SSPs 60-70are programmable switches which: recognize AIN-type calls; launchqueries to an Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP) 110; and, receivecommands and data from the ISCP 110 to further process and routeAIN-type calls. The SSPs 60-70 are connected by trunked communicationlines 120 which are used to connect and carry telecommunication signals,e.g., voice and/or data, from a calling party to a called party. Whenone of the SSPs 60-70 is triggered by an AIN-type call, the SSPformulates an AIN service request and responds to call processinginstructions from the network element in which the AIN service logicresides. A trigger event is the combination of the occurrence of receiptof a call, and the called telephone number satisfying the triggercriteria administered in the SSP, which invokes AIN or switch-basedfeature involvement in an originating or terminating call. A triggeroccurs when the SSP determines that it must query the ISCP to continueprocessing a call. Triggers can occur from both the originating andterminating telephone numbers. The AIN service logic may reside in adatabase at ISCP 110. A Call Processing Record (CPR) is a graphicalrepresentation of service logic. The CPR shows the flow of decisions andactions that are made as a call is processed.

In FIG. 2, the SSPs 60-70 are equipped with Common Channel Inter-OfficeSignaling (CCIS) capabilities (or, alternatively, Common ChannelSignaling (CCS)), e.g., Signaling System 7 (SS7), which provides fortwo-way communications of data messages between each SSP 60-70 and theISCP 110 via SS7 links 116. The data messages are formatted inaccordance with the Transaction Capabilities Applications Protocol(TCAP). As shown in FIG. 2, SSPs 60-70 are connected to SignalingTransfer Points (STPs) 100-104 by SS7 links 116. The connections bylinks 116 to the STPs are for signaling purposes, and allow the SSPs tosend and receive messages to and from the ISCP 110. Each of the STPs canbe connected to a number of other STPs. For purposes of illustration inFIG. 2, SS7 links 116 are shown as connecting STPs 100 and 102 to aregional STP 104 and connecting the regional STP 104 to ISCP 110.

FIG. 3 shows an ISCP 110 that may include a Service Management System(SMS) 118, a Data and Reports System (DRS) 120, a programmable ServiceControl Point (SCP) 122, and a Service Creation Environment (SCE) 124.The SCE 124 is a terminal that may be implemented to work with SMS 118to create, modify, and load services into a database in the SCP 122. TheSCP 122 executes software-based service logic and returns call routinginstructions to the SSPs. The SMS 118 and DRS 120 may be provided forcompiling calling information to be used for billing and administrativepurposes. By way of example, ISCP 110 may be implemented with theBellcore Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP), loaded with ISCPsoftware Version 3.4, available from Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc.,Murray Hill, N.J.

In a typical AIN-type system, when a non-AIN telephone call is initiatedfrom, for example, party A at location 88 in FIG. 2, the call isdirected to the end office 68 serving the calling location 88. Whileeach of the end offices 60-70 may not be AIN-type SSPs, they are SS7SSPs, and, therefore, part of the software data network. When the endoffice 68 receives the originating call, the call is suspended and thesoftware network takes over the routing and connecting of the call.Normal call processing begins when an originating station 88 is off-hookand the end office 68 receives dialed digits (the telephone number ofthe party at station 88) from the originating station. End office 68analyzes the digits and determines the call type, i.e., intraswitch orinterswitch. An intraswitch call, i.e., a local call, directly connectscalling station 88 with called station 90 without any querying outsideof end office 68, that serves both stations.

When the called station, for example, a party at station 82, is notserved by the same end office as originating station 88, furtherprocessing may be necessary. In this situation, and assuming an entireSS7 network, the originating call from station 88 is suspended at theend office 68, which further sends a query message through one or moreof the STPs 100 and 102, and/or regional STP 104 to ISCP 110 to offertermination of the call. The query message is routed to terminating endoffice 64, the end office serving called station 82. If station 82 isoff-hook, i.e., busy, terminating end office 64 responds to the queryfrom end office 68 that the call cannot be connected, and a busy signalis transmitted to calling station 88. If station 82 is on-hook, endoffice 64 responds to the query of originating end office 68 bytransmitting a ringback signal to calling station 88, which is thenserially connected through the trunked communication lines 120 to endoffice 64 and from end office 64 to called station 82.

Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) call processing differs from standardtelephone call processing in that a query to a centralized database orservice logic, e.g., ISCP 110, is triggered by an AIN application. InAIN-type call processing, an SSP is responsible for identifying callsassociated with AIN services, detecting when conditions for AIN serviceinvolvement are met, formulating service requests for call processinginstructions, and responding to the instructions received. As withnormal call processing, when the call is suspended at the callingparty's end office, this end office may send a data message, via the SS7links 116, to the STPs to establish the call route. AIN services arecreated by assigning appropriate SSP call suspension points, known asAIN “triggers”, accessed via customer lines or telephone numbers, andaccessing customer or service-specific logic in the ISCP 110. A DialedNumber (DN) Trigger is an AIN 0, office-based, originating trigger whichinvokes AIN features when the trigger criteria are met. Trigger criteriaare met when a call is placed to the designated NPA codes, NPA-NXX codesor NPA-NXX-XXXX codes. Ideally, AIN service should be triggered at theearliest possible point in the call, i.e., at the originating CO,however, service providers may only be able to provision the networkwith AIN triggers residing in the COs serving the subscribing customeror at an intermediate point on one of the connecting trunks. The SSPslaunching the AIN queries are SSPs 60-66, because SSPs 68 and 70 do notservice any telephones within the service area. Thus, if an originatingcall through SSP 60 encounters an AIN trigger, i.e., a call requiringAIN service involvement, the SSP 60 suspends call processing, thenqueries the ISCP 110 through the STPs 100 and 104 over the SS7 links116.

The ISCP 110 executes software based service logic programs stored inthe SCP 122 to perform subscriber functions, and returns a response tothe originating end office with call routing instructions. The AINservice application may be stored in SCP 122, or another elementcontaining or consisting of an ISCP database. New services may becreated by assigning appropriate SSP AIN triggers to customer lines ortelephone numbers to access customer and/or service-specific logic inISCP 110. The SS7 message routing should be devised to minimize the needfor data administration at the local and regional STPs.

When ISCP 110 receives a query, the intelligent network screeningservice logic will be executed. Call data may be collected and recordedin DRS 120. For example, the ISCP 110 may contain resident servicesoftware that collects the calling (originating) telephone number,called (terminating) telephone number, the date, and the time of eachquery to the ISCP 110 A call processing record (CPR) that is storedwithin SCP 122, may also be provided. The CPR may contain the servicelogic for network screening and call routing.

The ISCP service logic must have detailed knowledge of trunk groupidentifiers, route index numbers, and individual SSPs in order toservice a customer. This information may be obtained during a serviceorder process and may require that translation groups be consulted tocomplete such service order/provisioning information.

2. Geographical Call Routing for a Non-Emergency Calling Service System

An embodiment of the geographical call routing for a non-emergencycalling service system according to the present invention that will beused for illustration is a geographical call routing for a non-emergencycalling service system provided by a city to its residents. In thesystem, a caller may place a call to a non-emergency abbreviatedtelephone number to get information regarding city resources,activities, or services, etc. The abbreviated number may be threedigits, such as 311, or “1” or “0” plus three digits; e.g. 1 311 or 0311. The caller, or user, dials the 311 number to get answers toquestions regarding information or services. Normally, the user wouldhave to dial the number for the specific service, or the number for theoffice handling questions related to the information desired.

The non-emergency call routing system service is provided by a telephoneservice provider. The telephone service provider may or may not be thelocal telephone service provider of the subscriber to the service. Inthe above example, the city is a subscriber to the AIN-basedgeographical call routing system. A resident of the city is a user ofthe subscriber services provided by the system. If a user desiredinformation regarding a city service, the user would normally call thetelephone number associated with the department or agency that hasinformation for that service. The present invention provides the userwith the ability to dial only a single abbreviated telephone number toaccess information for all services provided by the subscriber.

Since only a single telephone number is used for information regardingall services, the frequency of calls to this number will be greater thanif several telephone numbers, one for each department, is used. Thepresent invention takes calls made to the abbreviated number and routesthem to one of one or more destinations based on the location of thecalling party. The location of the calling party is determined relativeto a defined service area where the subscriber provides the abbreviatednon-emergency call routing services. Only calls from users within thisservice area will be routed to one of the destinations that answer callsmade to the non-emergency number. The location of the SSP that servicesthe originating call from the calling party is used to determine routingof the call. The calling party number (CPN) is also used to determinehow to route the call when the SSP location is not sufficient.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the geographical non-emergency call routingsystem according to the present invention. A telephone call to the 311number is received at a SSP (S2) that services calls for the CPN thatplaced the call. An AIN trigger is generated (S4) for calls placed totelephone numbers having digits 311, 1+311, or 0+311. Informationrelated to the call is sent to ISCP 110 from the SSP. The SSP will sendinformation related to both the calling party, and the SSP. Thisinformation will include the CPN, as well as a Signaling Point Code(SPC). A SPC is associated with each SSP that services telephone numbersin the service area. The SPC relates to the location of the SSP. The SPCalso identifies whether the SSP services only telephone numbers withinthe service area, or whether the SSP services telephone numbers both inthe service area, and outside of the service area. ISCP 110 uses the SPCin determining the routing of the call.

ISCP 110 will determine if the SPC is contained in a SPC table containedin ISCP 110 (S6). The SPC table maps each SPC to a Routing TelephoneNumber (RTN). The subscriber to the non-emergency call routing systemmay provide this mapping to the service provider. FIG. 5 is an exemplarySPC Table according to the present invention. The first column of FIG. 5contains the SPC values identifying the SSPs. Column two of FIG. 5 showsa descriptive field designating what municipality, region, or area theSSP services based on the SPC. In the exemplary table in FIG. 5, theregion represents a city where the last character in the region fieldrepresents the state that the city is located in. The third column has aSPLIT variable that indicates whether the associated SSP services onlytelephone numbers that are within the service area, or services bothtelephone numbers within the service area and telephone numbers outsideof the service area. If the SSP only services telephone numbers that arewithin the service area, the SPLIT variable will be “N”. If the SSPservices both telephone numbers within the service area and telephonenumbers outside of the service area, the SPLIT variable will be “Y”.

If the SPC, of the SSP that received the call, is not contained in theSPC table, the call is routed to a default announcement and terminated.Generally, the SPC of the SSP will not be in the SPC table if the SSPonly services telephones located outside of the defined service area.SSP 68 and SSP 70 in FIG. 2 are examples of SSPs that do not service anytelephone numbers within the defined service area. The service area isdefined in FIG. 2 by thick solid lines forming a square. Therefore, acalling party from outside of the service area, for example outside ofthe city limits, would not have access to the services provided by thesubscriber city or municipality.

If the SPC is in the SPC table, and indicates that the telephonesserviced by the SSP are all within the service area, service logic inISCP 110 will identify the routing telephone number (RTN) associatedwith the SPC of the SSP as shown in FIG. 5. The service logic will sendthis routing information to the SSP, and the SSP will route the callaccordingly. Column 5 of FIG. 5 shows an associated customer billingnumber for each RTN. The billing number is a telephone number related tothe subscriber of the geographical non-emergency call routing service.This number is printed on billing information sent to the subscriber.

If the SPC indicates that the SSP is divided, or split (S8), i.e. theSSP services telephones both in the service area, and telephones outsideof the service area, the ISCP service logic performs additionalprocessing to determine the appropriate routing of the call. The servicelogic verifies that a ten digit CPN has been received from the SSP(S12). If a ten digit CPN has not been received, the ISCP will sendrouting information to the SSP to route the call to a defaultannouncement and terminate the call (S24).

However, if a ten digit CPN has been received, the service logic willattempt to identify a zip code associated with the CPN (S14). This canbe accomplished many ways. For example, a list of CPNs and associatedzip codes may be contained in a database. The service logic would thensend the CPN to the database to retrieve the associated zip code. Theservice logic may also, however, use a lookup table that contains a listof CPNs and their associated zip codes. Zip codes may vary in lengthfrom 5 digit zip codes to more than five digits.

If no zip code is found for the CPN (S16), the service logic will causethe ISCP to send routing information to the SSP (S27) directing the SSPto route the call to a default announcement and disconnect the call(S24). If a zip code match is found for the CPN (S16), the service logicthen determines the associated RTN for the zip code (S18). ISCP 110 willcontain information such as that shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is an exemplaryZip Code Routing table that lists zip codes and their associated routingtelephone numbers. If an associated routing telephone number is notfound, the service logic will cause the ISCP to send routing informationto the SSP (S27) directing the SSP to route the call to a defaultannouncement and disconnect the call (S24). If an associated routingtelephone number is found, ISCP 110 would send routing information tothe SSP that contains the associated RTN (S26).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, once the SSP receives the routingdirections from ISCP 110, the SSP will either route the call to theappropriate routing telephone number for the calling party number (S28),or route the call to a default announcement and disconnect the call(S24).

The geographical call routing for a non-emergency call service systemaccording to the present invention may also be implemented for multipleservice areas. For example, it is possible for several different areasto provide the non-emergency calling service for their residents.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention wherethe non-emergency call routing system has multiple service areas(denoted by the thick black rectangles). In this embodiment, thegeographical call routing for a non-emergency call service according tothe present invention still determines the appropriate routing of thecall based on the geographical location of the calling party. A 311 callfrom a calling party will be routed to the appropriate destination orrouting telephone number based on which service area the calling partynumber is located in or serviced by, and by the location of the callingparty relative to the service area. The SPC of each SSP defines thelocation of the SSP, and which service area the SSP services. If the SSPservices telephones both within one service area, and telephones withinanother service area or no service area, then the associated zip code ofthe calling party number will be used to determine the routing of thecall. If the zip code is not in the zip code routing table, then thecall will be routed to a default announcement.

Four separate geographical areas, each one denoted by the thickbox-shaped outlines, and the labels DALLAST, TULSAO, STLOUISM, andKANSASCM are shown in FIG. 7. STPs 202-208 are connected to ISCP 220through STP 210. Connections between SSPs and STPs (e.g. SS7 links 116),and SSPs and calling party telephones (e.g. local telephone lines 114)are the same as shown in FIG. 2 discussed previously. In FIG. 7, onlyone STP is shown in each geographical area, however, there may bemultiple STPs in each area, and more SSPs and calling party telephonesthan shown, and still be within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. ISCP 220 contains the SPC values for all SSPs that servicecalls from all service areas that subscribe to the geographicalnon-emergency calling service system. The ISCP also contains all callrouting telephone numbers associated with each service area.

For example, calls placed by a calling party at stations 260, 262, or270 to the non-emergency number calling service would be routed to adefault announcement and terminated because these stations are notwithin the STLOUISM service area, or any other service area. The SPC ofSSP 242 will not have an associated call routing telephone number.

Calls placed by a calling party at stations 264 or 266 will cause atrigger in SSP 244. Since SSP 244 services calls only from stationswithin the STLOUISM service area, the SPC of SSP 244 will likely have anassociated routing telephone number for the STLOUISM service area. Therouting telephone number for the SPC of SSP 244 will be sent to SSP 244,and the calls routed accordingly.

Calls placed by stations 268 and 270 will cause a trigger in SSP 246.The SPC of SSP 246 will be SPLIT since SSP 246 services stations bothwithin the STLOUISM service area and stations outside of the STLOUISMservice area. For calls to the non-emergency number placed at stations268 and 270, the calling party number will be sent to the ISCP to findan associated zip code. If the zip code is not found, the call will berouted to a default announcement and terminated. If a zip code is found,the associated routing telephone number will be sent to SSP 246, and thecall routed accordingly. Since station 268 is within the STLOUISMservice area, the SPC of station 268 will likely have an associated zipcode in ISCP 220 with an associated routing telephone number.Conversely, since station 270 is not within the STLOUISM service area,the SPC of station 270 will likely not have an associated routingtelephone number.

An exemplary routing table with SPCs and associated routing telephonenumbers for multiple service areas is shown in FIG. 8. In this example,call routing numbers for the four different service areas, denoted byDALLAST, STLOUISM, TULSAO, and KANSASCM, are shown. This table issimilar to that shown in FIG. 5 discussed previously, except FIG. 5 onlyrelated to a single service area. The SPC Table in FIG. 8 is for asystem that services multiple service areas, as shown by the differentregions that represent different cities. The last character in theregion field represents the state that the city is located. As shown inFIG. 8, there can be different SPCs for the same service area, and alsodifferent routing telephone numbers for calls from the same servicearea. The term “BLANK” means that there is no information for thisentry.

3. Trigger Requirements

The present invention may be implemented with, for example: 5ESS, AXE10,1 AESS, and/or DMS-100 switches. A trigger will be set against thedigits 311, 1+311, and 0+311 in the SSP switches. The 311 trigger shouldbe activated only in those SSPs that serve telephone numbers locatedwithin the service area. If a trigger is generated, a query is launchedto the ISCP 110. The 311 digits will be translated into ten-digitnumbers in each of these switches.

The non-emergency 311 service may be used by telephones that areserviced by non-AIN equipped switches. In these cases, in order toprovide the 311 service, it will be necessary to route 311 calls to anearby compatible 5ESS, AXE10, 1AESS, or DMS-100 SSP. Once the 311number is received by one of these SSPs, a trigger will be generated,and the call processed accordingly.

For the terminating announcement, AIN Announcement ID #99 is translatedin each 311 participating SSP according to the switch specific featuresas shown in FIG. 9. The announcement may be recorded and installed inany SSP that is part of the non-emergency calling service system. Theterminating announcement is not limited to AIN Announcement ID #99, butmay be any message desired, recorded, and installed for the terminatingannouncement.

a. 5ESS Switch Types

For a non-emergency 311 number served by a 5ESS switch, a N11 trigger isencountered and an Info_Analyzed query message is generated with atrigger criteria type of N11. The trigger on the 5ESS switch is a10-digit trigger. The trigger may be based upon AIN Release 0.1 protocoland may preferably require that AIN Release 0.1 query call variables beconverted into common call variables by a CPR (Calling Party Record) inthe ISCP 110. If the 5ESS switch is utilized, then these switches shouldbe equipped with Generic 5E9.1 (or higher) and provided with thenecessary trigger requirements in order to serve subscribers.

b. 1AESS Switch Types

For a non-emergency 311 number served by a 1AESS switch, a NPA (3/6/10)trigger is encountered and an Info_Analyzed query message is generatedwith a trigger criteria type of NPA. The trigger on the 1AESS switch maybe a dialed line number (DN) trigger based upon a 10 digit virtualnumber. The trigger may be based upon the AIN Release 0.1 protocol andmay preferably require AIN Release 0.1 query call variables to beconverted into common call variables by a CPR in the ISCP 110. Further,if 1AESS switches are employed, they should preferably be equipped withGeneric 1AE12.03 (or higher) and provided with the necessary triggerrequirements in order to serve subscribers.

c. DMS-100 Switch Types

For a non-emergency 311 number served by a DMS switch, a NPA (3/6/10)trigger is encountered and an Info_Analyzed query message is generatedwith a trigger criteria type of NPA. The trigger of the DMS-100 switchmay utilize a termination attempt trigger (TAT) based upon the AINRelease 0.1 protocol and may preferably require AIN Release 0.1 querycall variables to be converted into common call variables by a CPR inthe ISCP 110. A TAT is a subscribed trigger that is assigned to atelephone number. AIN features are invoked because of an attempt toterminate a call on the dialed number which subscribes to this trigger.These were first available in AIN 0.1. If DMS-100 switches are used, DMSrelease NA008 (or higher) should preferably be provided.

d. AXE 10 Switch Types

For a non-emergency 311 number served by a AXE 10 switch, a N11 triggeris encountered and an Info_Analyzed query message is generated with atrigger criteria type of N11. If AXE 10 switches are used, AXE 10 8.0(or higher) should preferably be provided.

4. Non-AIN Switches

In the non-emergency call routing system according to the presentinvention, switches that are not equipped for AIN can be used. Thenon-AIN switch is assigned an SSP (Hub SSP) that is AIN equipped, andpart of the non-emergency call routing system. If a call to thenon-emergency call routing service is received by the non-AIN switch,and the non-AIN switch services telephones that the non-emergency callrouting system is providing service for, the call will be routed fromthe non-AIN switch to the Hub SSP. A trigger will then be generated, andthe call processed the same as calls placed to AIN SSPs used in thenon-emergency call routing system. The non-AIN switch should be assignedto an AIN Hub SSP with the same type non-emergency number routing tableinformation in the ISCP.

The call processing of 311 calls to a non-AIN switch is determined basedon the locations of both the non-AIN switch, and the Hub SSP. If boththe non-AIN switch and the Hub SSP are entirely within the service area,the SPLIT variable will be “N”, and only the SPC Table will be accessedto determine the appropriate routing of the call. However, if either thenon-AIN switch or the Hub SSP are outside of the service area, the SPLITvariable will be “Y”, and the ZIP Code Routing table will be used todetermine the appropriate routing of the call.

5. Hosts/Remotes

The non-emergency call routing system according to the present inventioncan have host SSPs that service remote terminals. Remote terminals areline termination points that service one or more telephones. The remoteterminals, however, are “dumb” terminals with no programming orprocessing means. Interoffice calls placed from telephones serviced byremote terminals are always routed to a host SSP. The host SSP thenprocesses the call to determine the appropriate routing of the call.Remote terminals are not connected to trunk lines, and cannot routeinteroffice calls. Interoffice calls placed by a telephone number toanother telephone number serviced by a remote terminal are always routedto the host SSP that services the remote terminal, and then from thehost SSP to the destination end office.

Calls from telephones serviced by remote terminals to the 311non-emergency number are processed similar to the way calls areprocessed for 311 calls to non-AIN SSPs. The call processing of 311calls from a remote terminal is determined based on the locations ofboth the remote terminal, and the host SSP. If both the remote terminaland the host SSP are entirely within the service area, the SPLITvariable will be “N”, and only the SPC Table will be accessed todetermine the appropriate routing of the call. If, however, either theremote terminal or the host SSP are outside of the service area, theSPLIT variable will be “Y”, and the ZIP Code Routing table will be usedto determine the appropriate routing of the call.

6. Local Service Providers

A subscriber who subscribes to the non-emergency call routing system,provided by a service provider, may desire to provide the non-emergencycall routing service to users in an area that has telephone serviceprovided by a telephone service provider (such as a local serviceprovider) that is different from the provider that provides thenon-emergency call routing system services. In this case, the localservice provider (LSP) may provide service to some portion of theservice area where the non-emergency call routing service is provided.

The local service provider may handle the non-emergency call by routingthe call from a calling party to a routing telephone number, or thelocal service provider may route the non-emergency call to an SSP of thenon-emergency call routing service provider where a trigger will begenerated. If the LSP handles the non-emergency call, the LSP will havea database or some other means for mapping the calling party number toan associated telephone number for routing of the call, defined by thesubscriber. If the calling party number does not have an associated callrouting number, the LSP will route the call to a default announcementand terminate the call. If the LSP does not choose to handle callsplaced to the non-emergency call routing service, all calls received bythe LSP that have been placed to the non-emergency telephone number willbe routed to an SSP that is part of the system of the service providerproviding the non-emergency call routing services, In this case, atrigger will be generated and the call routed like other non-emergencycalls received by the system.

7. POTS and Coin Call Dispositions

FIG. 10 shows the call disposition based on the type of switch, thenumber dialed, and whether the call is placed from a Plain Old TelephoneSystem (POTS), or from a coin telephone. The left most column lists thetypes of switches. The two columns to the right of this show whether acoin deposit is required, and whether the coin will be returned after ithas been deposited. The next three columns represent the telephonenumber digits dialed that may initiate a trigger according to thenon-emergency calling system of the present invention.

8. Usage Monitoring and Billing

The geographical call routing for a non-emergency calling service systemaccording to the present invention monitors usage of the non-emergencycalling service network. A distributed network function (in the SSPs)measures usage of the network and produces Automatic Message Accounting(AMA) records containing usage information. This information is used toobtain a count of completed calls to each 311 subscriber. This allowseach subscriber to be billed on a number of completed calls basis.However, this information may be used for other purposes, and/or thesubscriber billed based on different criteria related to the service,and still be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

An AMA record is created in the SSP for each call made to thenon-emergency number. The ISCP sends, to each SSP, information informingthe SSP whether to create an AMA record for the call, and if so, theappropriate AMA parameters needed for the SSP to create the AMA record.This may include, among other items, a slip id (SLPID), as shown inTable 1 below, that tells the switch type, and the AMA originatingnumber. The SLPID is then made part of the AMA record. An exemplary AMArecord is shown in FIG. 11. The first column in the AMA record shown inFIG. 11 is the title of the information collected. The second column isused to refer to tables that may reside in the ISCP if a table structureis used to collect this information. The third column is the informationcollected, and the fourth column contains any comments or additionalinformation related to the information in column three. This informationmay be used for a variety of purposes, such as identifying high usageSSPs, or for billing the subscriber for the service.

TABLE 1 AMA Originating Number Switch Type NPA Number 1AESS & AXE 3110000000 5ESS 000 3110000 DMS 000 0000311

In accordance with the present invention and as discussed previously, abilling telephone number may be associated with each routing telephonenumber. For each routing number associated with a SPC of an SSP, theremay be an associated billing number. Also, when the SPC indicates SPLIT,for each zip code that has an associated call routing telephone number,an associated billing telephone number may exist. Therefore, when theISCP receives the SPC and the CPN from the SSP to determine routing ofthe call, both the routing telephone number and the billing telephonenumber may be obtained simultaneously.

9. Data and Reports System

The ISCP in the geographical call routing for a non-emergency callingsystem according to the present invention passes call information to aData and Reports System (DRS). The DRS stores call information relatedto calls to the non-emergency calling service system. For example, theDRS may store information related to: an occurrence of an event, theflow of decisions and actions that are made as a call is processed, thetime of a call, the date of a call, and the calling party number. Thisinformation may be used to generate reports or billing information forthe service provider. The information in these reports may also beuseful, for example, if a call cannot be routed, or if an errorcondition arises.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of the AIN geographical call routing for anon-emergency calling service that includes the DRS for recordinginformation related to the handling of the call. Reference step numbersin FIG. 12 that are the same as those in FIG. 4 represent the sameactivity as in FIG. 4. FIG. 12 shows additional steps S20 and S22representing the DRS function. As shown in FIG. 12, whenever a call tothe non-emergency number cannot be routed to a routing telephone number,i.e. the call is routed to a default announcement and terminated,information related to the call is gathered and recorded by the DRS instep S22. Also, when the call can be routed to a routing telephonenumber, call related information is recorded by the DRS in step S20.

A call disposition will be determined by the ISCP based on the handlingof each call to the non-emergency number. The call disposition will besent to the DRS. Some exemplary call dispositions are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 NUMBER DISPOSITION 1 Call routed to the 311 answer point withoutaccessing Zip Code Table 2 No CPN delivered 3 CPN delivered, but not inZip Code Table 4 CPN delivered, CPN in Zip Code Table, but an associatedZip code is not in Zip Code Table 5 Time-out condition 6 Return Errormessage 7 SCCP routing error 8 SPC not in SPC Table - Call originatingfrom a subscriber that is not in the customer's defined service area, orerror in SPC Table 9 No RTN in SPC Table 10 No RTN in Zip Code Table -Call originating from a subscriber that is not in the customer's definedservice area, or error in Zip Code Table 11 Call routed to the RTNanswer point after accessing Zip Code Table

Call disposition 1 occurs after the “Yes” branch of step S10. Calldisposition 2 occurs after the “No” branch of step S12. Call disposition3 occurs after exiting step S14 if the CPN is not found in the Zip CodeTable. Call disposition 4 occurs after the “No” branch of step S16. Calldispositions 5, 6, or 7 may occur after exiting step S14. The SCCP ispart of the SS7 protocol that provides communication between signalingnodes by adding circuit and routing information to the signalingmessage. Call disposition 8 occurs after the “No” branch of step S6.Call disposition 9 occurs after the “No” branch of step S10. Calldisposition 10 occurs after the “No” branch of step S19. Calldisposition 11 occurs after the “Yes” branch of step S19.

The disposition of each call will be sent to the DRS and recorded. Therecorded dispositions will be monitored by the service provider toidentify any problems with the system and for service assurance tosubscribers.

10. Interactions with other AIN Type Services

The service provider may provide the geographical non-emergency callrouting service system to a subscriber in area that is serviced byanother AIN type service. This AIN type service may be provided by a LSPand consist of, for example, the LSP receiving operator, directoryassistance, and local calls on their own network. The LSP may elect toreceive-some or all of these type calls on the network provided by thenon-emergency call routing service system provided by the serviceprovider.

If the LSP elects to receive not to receive local calls, i.e. thesecalls are processed by the non-emergency call routing service system,calls to the 311 number would generate a trigger, and the calls would beprocessed and routed by the non-emergency call routing service system asusual. If, however, the LSP elects to receive and process local callsitself, calls to the 311 number would be received by the non-emergencycall routing service system and routed to the LSP via the LSP's ownnetwork. For this situation, no trigger would be generated, and it isthe responsibility of the LSP to properly route the 311 call.

The non-emergency call routing service system according to the presentinvention also supports Disaster Routing Service. This is an intelligentcall forwarding type of service. For example, if a police station had noone available to answer calls to its numbers because of some disaster orother situation, the police station could activate the Disaster RoutingService and then all calls made to the normal telephone number of thepolice station would be forwarded to another location. A service such asthis can be supported for the 311 non-emergency number. If a call isplaced to the 311 number, processing occurs as normal, and call routinginformation is sent back to the SSP. At the SSP, the received RTN wouldcause another trigger in the SSP, and cause the SSP to forward the callto another number accordingly.

The non-emergency call routing service system according to the presentinvention also supports Local Number Portability (LNP). This AIN basedservice, mandated by the FCC, provides the ability of users oftelecommunications services to retain, at the same location, existingtelephone numbers when switching from one service provider to another.If a call is placed to the 311 number, a trigger would be generated andthe call processed normally. After the RTN is sent to the originatingSSP, normal LNP service call processing would occur.

It is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided merely forthe purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limitingof the present invention. While the present invention has been describedwith reference to a preferred embodiment, it is understood that thewords which have been used herein are words of description andillustration, rather than words of limitation. Changes may be made,within the purview of the appended claims, as presently stated and asamended, without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention in its aspects. Although the present invention has beendescribed herein with reference to particular means, materials andembodiments, the present invention is not intended to be limited to theparticulars disclosed herein; rather, the present invention extends toall functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as arewithin the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method for location-based communicating, comprising: defining atleast one predefined service area for a service provider; receiving, ata networked communications apparatus, a communication comprising a firstidentifier that identifies the service provider based on input from arequesting party; determining whether a plurality of the at least onepredefined service area have been defined for the service provider basedon receiving the communication at the networked communicationsapparatus; determining whether the requesting party is in one of the atleast one predefined service area when the plurality of the at least onepredefined service area have been defined for the service provider;determining which of the at least one predefined service area therequesting party is in when the requesting party is in one of the atleast one predefined service area; and providing information specific toa service provider location for the determined at least one predefinedservice area the requesting party is in.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, the determining whether the requesting party is in one of theat least one predefined service area further comprising: determininggeographic information used to define the at least one predefinedservice area, using a second identifier that identifies an address ofthe requesting party.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein theaddress of the requesting party is a communications address of therequesting party.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein theinformation specific to the service provider location for the determinedat least one predefined service area the requesting party is incomprises an address of the service provider location.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 4, wherein the address of the service providerlocation is a communications address of the service provider location.6. A method for location-based communicating, comprising: defining atleast one predefined service area for a service provider; receiving, ata networked communications apparatus, a communication comprising a firstidentifier that identifies the service provider based on input from arequesting party; determining whether a plurality of service providerlocations are provided for the at least one predefined service areabased on receiving the communication at the networked communicationsapparatus; determining a location of the requesting party relative tothe defined at least one predefined service area when the plurality ofservice provider locations are provided for the at least one predefinedservice area; selecting one of the plurality of service providerlocations based on the determined location of the requesting partyrelative to the defined at least one predefined service area; andproviding information specific to the selected service providerlocation.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the informationspecific to the selected service provider location comprises an addressof the selected service provider location.
 8. The method according toclaim 6, wherein the information specific to the selected serviceprovider location is used to route at least one communication from therequesting party to the selected service provider location.
 9. Themethod according to claim 6, wherein the location of the requestingparty relative to the defined at least one predefined service area isdetermined using information specific to an intermediate communicationsdevice from which the communication is received at the networkedcommunications apparatus.
 10. The method according to claim 6, whereinthe determining the location of the requesting party relative to thedefined at least one predefined service area comprises determining aclosest service provider location to the to the requesting party.
 11. Amethod for location-based communicating, comprising: defining at leastone service area for a service provider; receiving, at a networkedcommunications apparatus, a communication comprising a first identifierthat identifies the service provider based on input from a requestingparty; determining whether an at least one service area has been definedfor the service provider based on receiving the communication at thenetworked communications apparatus; determining whether the requestingparty is in the at least one service area when the at least one servicearea has been defined for the service provider; determining which of theat least one service area the requesting party is in when the requestingparty is in one of the at least one service area; and forwardinginformation corresponding to the determined at least one service areathe requesting party is in.
 12. The method according to claim 11, thedetermining whether the requesting party is in one of the at least oneservice area further comprising: determining geographic information usedto define the at least one service area, using a second identifier thatidentifies an address of the requesting party.
 13. The method accordingto claim 12, wherein the address of the requesting party is acommunications address of the requesting party.
 14. The method accordingto claim 11, wherein the information specific to the service providerlocation for the determined at least one service area the requestingparty is in comprises an address of the service provider location. 15.The method according to claim 14, wherein the address of the serviceprovider location is a communications address of the service providerlocation.
 16. A method for location-based communicating, comprising:defining at least one service area for a service provider; receiving, ata networked communications apparatus, a communication comprising a firstidentifier that identifies the service provider based on input from arequesting party; determining whether a service provider location isprovided for the at least one service area based on receiving thecommunication at the networked communications apparatus; determining alocation of the requesting party relative to the defined at least oneservice area when the service provider location is provided for the atleast one service area; selecting the service provider location based onthe determined location of the requesting party relative to the definedat least one service area; and forwarding information specific to theselected service provider location.
 17. The method according to claim16, wherein the information specific to the selected service providerlocation comprises an address of the selected service provider location.18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the information specificto the selected service provider location is used to route at least onecommunication from the requesting party to the selected service providerlocation.
 19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the location ofthe requesting party relative to the defined at least one service areais determined using information specific to an intermediatecommunications device from which the communication is received at thenetworked communications apparatus.
 20. The method according to claim16, wherein the determining the location of the requesting partyrelative to the defined at least one service area comprises determininga closest service provider location to the to the requesting party.